• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.207-210
• /
• 2003

The locus coeruleus (LC) contains about half of the total number of noradrenergic neurons in the brain and those noradrenergic neurons from the LC innervate entire brain regions. The LC is a major common target region in several neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's, Pakinson's and Huntington's diseases. The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) regulate neuronal cell survival and differentiation of central nervous system neurons, including LC noradrenergic neurons. In this study, various small molecules and growth factors were tested as candidates to promote the production of BDNF in LC noradrenergic neuronal cells. The molecules tested include neuropeptides, cytokines, growth factors, neurotransmitters, and intracellular signaling agents. Four small molecules or growth factors, FGF8b, BMP-4, forskolin, and dibutyryl cGMP, were found to increase the release of BDNF in LC noradrenergic neurons. Especially, BMP-4 significantly enhanced BDNF production over 2.5-fold in LC noradrenergic neurons.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
• /
• v.23 no.5
• /
• pp.351-356
• /
• 2015

Background : Ginseng is mainly grown as a break crop in paddy fields after rice has been cultured for approximately 4 - 5 years, because it reduces the negative effects of continuous rice cropping. However, physiological disorders, such as leaf discoloration, occur in ginseng grown in paddy fields with poor drainage and excessive levels of inorganic components. Methods and Results : This study investigated the effect of ridge height on the growth characteristics and yield of 6 year old Panax ginseng. Ridge height was varied by making 20, 30, and 40 cm high ridges in a pooly drained paddy field. Soil moisture content decreased, while electrical conductivity (EC) as the ridge height increased. The $NO_3$, K, Ca, Mg, and Na levels also rose as ridge height increased, but organic matter and $P_2O_4$ levels did not. The leaf discoloration ratio rose as the ridge height increased, and root yield reached a peak when the ridge height was 30 cm. Conclusion : A ridge height of 30 cm in poorly drained paddy field improved ginseng growth by reducing leaf discoloration and increasing root survival, owing to more suitable soil moisture and EC levels.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.806-813
• /
• 2012

Adipocyte differentiation is strongly associated with obesity, which causes metabolic disorders. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effects of widdrol on 3T3-L1 preadipocyte growth and differentiation. Widdrol decreased lipid droplet accumulation and down-regulated adipogenic transcription factors such as C/$EBP{\alpha}$, C/$EBP{\beta}$, and $PPAR{\gamma}$. Widdrol blocked preadipocyte proliferation and differentiation through the inhibition of mitotic clonal expansion, which was accompanied by the failure of degradation of p21, a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor. Cell-cycle analysis clearly indicated that widdrol actively induces cell-cycle arrest at the G1-S phage transition, causing cells to remain in the preadipocyte state. Moreover, widdrol increased p21 expression and inhibited Rb phosphorylation in preadipocyte incubated in a hormone medium. Therefore, these findings clearly suggest that widdrol blocks preadipocyte growth and differentiation through the inhibition of mitotic clonal expansion by p21-and Rb-dependent G1 arrest and can be developed as a potent anti-adipogenic agent for reducing obesity.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.6 no.5
• /
• pp.275-279
• /
• 2002

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is an important autocrine growth factor and also a survival factor for keratinocytes. NGF may act in the hyperproliferative condition, psoriasis. Clinically, the combination of psoralen and UVA (PUVA) has been used in the treatment of a wide variety of cutaneous disorders, such as psoriasis and vitiligo. However, the precise therapeutic mechanism of PUVA on the dermatologic diseases remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the expression of NGF in cultured keratinocytes is influenced by PUVA. Thus, normal human keratinocytes were isolated from neonatal foreskin, and the third to fifth-passaged cells were used in this study. The cells were exposed to various doses of UVA (30, 60, 120 $mJ/cm^2)$ after adding 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) to examine the expression of NGF mRNA. The RNA and protein of the cells were extracted at various time points (1, 8, 24 hours) after UVA irradiation to examine the expression of NGF mRNA and production of NGF protein. In keratinocytes, there were no differences in the expression of NGF mRNA between the different doses of UVA irradiation, however, the expression of NGF mRNA in UVA and PUVA groups tended to increase as the time increased. The expression of NGF mRNA was the highest in PUVA group, followed by UVA group and the lowest in 8-MOP group. The expressions of NGF protein at 1 and 8 hours after UVA irradiation were lower in the PUVA group than in the other groups. This study showed that the expression level of NGF protein in keratinocytes was relatively lower in the PUVA groups than in the other groups, suggesting that the therapeutic mechanism of PUVA in psoriasis is related to the decrease of NGF protein.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.213-223
• /
• 2023

Purpose: Pediatric patients in low-income countries are at a high risk of malnutrition. Numerous screening tools have been developed to detect the risk of malnutrition, including the Subjective Global Nutritional Assessment (SGNA), Pediatric Yorkhill Malnutrition Score (PYMS), Screening Tool for the Assessment of Malnutrition in Pediatrics (STAMP), and Screening Tool for Risk of Nutritional Status and Growth (STRONGkids). However, anthropometry remains the main tool for assessing malnutrition. We aimed to identify the value of four nutritional screening tools versus anthropometry for evaluating the nutritional status of children. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 1,000 children aged 1-12 years who visited the outpatient clinic of Cairo University Pediatric Hospital. Each participant was evaluated using anthropometric measurements (weight, length/height, and weight for length/height) as well as the PYMS, STAMP, STRONGkids, and SGNA screening tools. The sensitivities and specificities of these four tools were assessed using anthropometry as the gold standard. Results: Of the patients, 1.7% were underweight, 10.2% were wasted, and 35% were stunted. STRONGkids demonstrated the highest sensitivity (79.4%) and a high specificity (80.2%) for detecting malnutrition compared with weight for height, followed by STAMP, which demonstrated lower sensitivity (73.5%) but higher specificity (81.4%). PYMS demonstrated the lowest sensitivity (66.7%) and the highest specificity (93.5%), whereas SAGA demonstrated higher sensitivity (77.5%) and lower specificity (85.4%) than PYMS. Conclusion: The use of nutritional screening tools to evaluate the nutritional status of children is valuable and recommended as a simple and rapid method for identifying the risk of malnutrition in pediatric patients.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.157-173
• /
• 2003

The history of pediatric psychopharmacology is very short and the research on safety, efficacy and side effects is preliminary and long-term effect on growth and maturation is not well known yet. Clinical findings have shown that the responses to antidepressants, antipsychotics, CNS stimulants and steroids in children and adolescents might be different from adult populations. Based on these findings, this paper reviewed three issues, Firstly, in developmental pharmacokinetics. the author discussed the developmental factors affecting drug absorption, distribution, protein-binding, metabolism and excretion. Secondly, in developmental pharmacodynamics, developmental characteristics of dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine receptors and their clinical implications were reviewed. Lastly, in pharamcogenetic part, the clinical utility of pharmacogenetics, pharmacokinetic aspects of pharmacogenetics, the pharmacodynamic aspects of pharmacogenetics, the association studies of dopamine-related alleles in neuropsychiatric disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders or Tourette’s disorders, pharmacogenetic studies dopamine-related alleles and the pharmacogenetic studies of serotonin-related alleles. Based on these preliminary research, future pharmacogenetic applications in childhood and adolescent psychiatry were also discussed.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.129-135
• /
• 2015

Objectives : In children and adolescents, the prevalence of overweight has increased in the last 20 years. little research is available on the prevalence of obesity in children with autism spectrum disorders(ASD). The purpose of our study was to determine the prevalence of overweight among a clinical population of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders(ASD). Methods : Retrospective chart review of children ages 3-18 years seen between 2012 and 2015 at a Konyang University hospital psychiatric clinic. Diagnostic, medical, and demographic information was extracted from the charts. Body mass index(BMI) was calculated from measures of height and weight recorded in the child's chart. The Center for Disease Control's BMI growth reference was used to determine an age and gender-specific BMI z-score for the children. Results : In our study, children with ASD compared to non ASD group had significantly higher BMI percentiles (p=0.032). The prevalence of overweight($BMI{\geq}85th$ to 95th percentiles) and obesity($BMI{\geq}95th$ percentiles) was 35% and 19% respectively in children with ASD and without ASD. Conclusions : Despite noted limitations, our data suggest that overweight and obesity in children with ASD are more prevalent than without ASD. Longitudinal and further study is needed to examine the factors associated with obesity in this population.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.70-77
• /
• 2022

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have been attracting significant attention in modern society, owing to the increased incidence rate of various diseases along with population growth. EDCs are found in many commercial products, including some plastic bottles and containers, detergents, liners of metal food cans, flame retardants, food, toys, cosmetics, and pesticides. EDCs have a hormonal effect on the human body, which disrupts the endocrine system, notably affecting sexual differentiation and normal reproduction, and can trigger cancer as well. Recently, the association between neurological diseases and EDCs has become a hot topic of research in the field of neuroscience. Considering that EDCs negatively affect not only neuronal proliferation and neurotransmission but also the formation of the neuronal networks, EDCs may induce neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder as well as neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. In light of these potentially deleterious outcomes, important efforts have been underway to minimize the exposure to EDCs through appropriate regulations and policies around the world, but chemicals that have not yet been associated with endocrine disrupting properties are still in wide use. Therefore, more epidemiological investigations and research are needed to fully understand the effects of EDCs on the nervous system.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.829-836
• /
• 2003

Seogakjihwang-tang (SJT) was widely used to treat patients suffering from cerebral infarction. But scientific investigation has been carried out very little. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of SJT on the production of various cytokines in the patients with cerebral infarction (CI). We investigated interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-1 in the sera of 27 patients with cerebral infarction under consciousness disorders and 10 normal controls using an originally devised sensitive sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We found that plasma levels of IL-4 were slightly elevated in patients with cerebral infarction, whereas plasma levels of IL-10 (P<0.001) and TGF-1 were reduced. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) obtained from the patient with CI were cultured for 24 h in the presence or absence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or phytohaemagglutinin (PHA). The amount of IL-4, IL-10 and TGF-1, in culture supernatant, was significantly increased in the LPS or PHA treated cells compared to unstimulated cells (P<0.05), We also show that increased cytokines IL-4, and IL-10 level was significantly inhibited by SJT in a dose-dependent manner. Maximal inhibition rate of IL-4 and IL-10 production by SJT was 45.63.3% and 614.7% for LPS-stimulated cell and 27.31.2% and 83.62% for PHA-stimulated cells, respectively (P<0.05). On the other hand, SJT significantly increased the LPS or PHA-induced TGF-1 production (P<0.05). These data suggest that SJT has a regulatory effect on the cytokines production, which might explain its beneficial effect in the treatment of CI.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.73-78
• /
• 2002

Bacillus polyfermenticus SCD, which is commonly called as Bisroot strain, is being used for functional foods through the treatment of long-term intestinal disorders, since the live strains in the form of active endospores can successfully reach the target intestine in both humans and animals. The cells of B. polyfermenticus SCD were treated for 24 h in artifical bile after incubation for 2 h in artificial gastric juice and final number of the strain was reached to around $3.3{times}10^7\;CFU/mL$. In test of API ZYM kit, ${\beta}-glucuronidase$ or ${\beta}-glucosidase$ was not produced by B. polyfermenticus SCD. B. polyfermenticus SCD was resistant to antibiotics, such as nisin, streptomycin, tetracycline, and rifamycin. B. polyfermenticus SCD was also affected by alcohol concentration up to 4%, but more than 8%, their growth was not affected significantly. Finally, B. polyfermenticus SCD was shown to inhibit the growth of Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19111 completely within 24 h of incubation, which indicated its bactericidal nature.